Garfield Stuff catalog is only part of feline's 20th anniversary marketing litter
DM media such as catalogs, co-ops, fan clubs and Garfield.com are key components in the upcoming 20th anniversary celebration of comic's top cat.
The first edition of the Garfield Stuff catalog dropped in a 170,000 piece test this spring. Jim Davis, creator of the cartoon cat and president of Paws Inc., noted at the Catalog Conference in June that when Garfield was launched in 1978, the character licensing business was $8 billion at retail. Today, the market tops $100 billion. While he doesn't begrudge the success of titans Disney and Warner Bros. in this area ("they made wearing licensed characters fashionable"), he conceded that the proliferation of cartoon items makes it difficult to get retail placement.
"Our only choice was to go to direct marketing, and frankly, it was something I had wanted to do for a long time anyway," said Davis, who purchased the rights for Garfield back from United Media three years ago.
Davis estimates the catalog's start-up costs at $300,000, noting many items were overstocked for the debut to avoid fans being disappointed. Davis also spent time with the telereps, educating them about all the products.
"They'll have the most direct contact with the people I'm working for, the fans," he noted, adding that because of book sales he places the Garfield fan base at 700,000.
That fan base is surely the audience for the Fat Cat Fanatic fan club, slated to launch next month notes Paul Theroux, vice president, business development for New York-based CCM, which is helping coordinate the anniversary.
Two Garfield sweepstakes are slated to launch next May. A "scan and win" game in conjunction with Catalina will target supermarket consumers, while a sweeps in Madison Direct's Young Families co-op will reach 14 million homes.
Davis worked on the start-up of the catalog with Jack Schmid, president of J. Schmid & Associates. While the average order from the Garfield fan list has only been $30, orders from rented files have averaged $55; collectors orders have averaged $100, said Davis. A 15% response is expected from the fan mail lists.
Mugs, calendars and books are up for sale on the Web site, which also allows fans to post their favorite lasagna recipes.
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